Badgered Romance
by scorchedfatale
Summary: Goblet Of Fire rewrite, surrounding Harry/Cedric & original plot.Extremely canon and as the story progresses, will slightly depart from the book. Just in case it's rated T, may progress to M much later in the story. Reviews inspire me to write more
1. Introductions, Embarrassment & Apologies

_Introductions, Embarrassment and Apologies_

_Harry turned the corner, walking down a path surrounded by what look like walls. He stopped and shivered, a frigid gust of wind enveloping him. Trying to see what may be ahead he leaned forward and strained his eyes. Due to the thick fog all over, he couldn't see more than a few feet in front of himself. With no other choice, he started moving, unable to shake the feeling of being watched. He walked a few steps, a faint blue glow in the distance catching his line of sight... Unable to control himself, Harry reached for the far away light, longing to hold the source in his hands. Out of nowhere a blood curdling scream interrupted the silence, the faint blue light changing to a blinding green. Unimaginable pain shot from his scar all throughout his body, every part of him feeling as if he was on fire. The screaming grew louder and closer, nearer and nearer, until he was sure the person screaming was standing beside him. Panicked and unable to move, Harry waited for his inevitable death._

_Instantly, it all stopped. The light, the pain, the screaming, all had disappeared. He was left standing in a dark area, which somehow felt very different from where he had just been. He looked at his surroundings, unable to see much, the darkness had swallowed this place completely. Then, without warning, Harry was struck with an immense feeling of horror, trying his best not to scream, his eyes had fallen upon the lifeless body on the ground in front of him-_

Harry awoke with a start, jolted from his sleep. Feeling disoriented, unsure of where he was, the raven haired boy sat up, and grabbed his glasses, slipping them onto his face. He noticed was that he was in pain, apparently from sleeping on the floor. He also observed that there was someone snoring on a bed to his right, causing him to look over, he realized that someone was Ron Weasley. Sighing with relief, he remembered he was no longer staying with the Dursleys on Privet Drive; He was at his second home: The Burrow. Harry sat there and tried to think of the nightmare he had been having, and his mind was completely blank. The only thing that he could associate with it was feelings of dread, pain, and bone-chilling cold. Although he was shaken and frustrated that he couldn't recollect the details of the dream, he decided to lie back down and rest. After all, he had to wake up very early.

Harry closed his eyes and a slight smile appeared on his face, his worry over the dream being replaced with dreams of The World Cup, Hogwarts, and most importantly: Friends.

It felt as though Harry had just fallen asleep again by the time Mrs. Weasley was shaking Harry awake, "Time to get up dear, don't want to be late." She said softly as she moved over to Ron's bed to wake him well. Harry yawned loudly and stretched, lifting his arms above his head, relieved he no longer had to sleep on the uncomfortable floor- even though he had a minimal amount of sleep. The twins also sat up from their spots and sighed simultaneously. Harry looked over at Ron and chuckled, the ginger haired boy was rubbing his eyes, appearing as though he had just risen from the dead. Ron grunted and hopped out of bed, going through his drawers, searching for some appropriate muggle attire.

The four of them finished getting ready and slowly made their way downstairs to the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley was cooking up breakfast, while Mr. Weasley was fully dressed in his mismatched muggle clothing. The elder Weasley seemed to be fully unfazed by how early it was, Which Harry thought was bonkers, to his standards anyway.

After eating breakfast, Mrs. Weasley bid them farewell and they walked out in the darkness of the morning, leaving towards their destination.

They made it after walking quite a ways from the Burrow, passing through the small village that resided in the area. Mr. Weasley guided them towards a hill, it standing high up, a dead scraggly tree at the top. Also residing on the top of the hill were two tall silhouettes standing side by side.

Once they got closer one of them yelled, "Arthur, that you? It's Amos"

"Ah, yes it is, it's me!" he shouted back. As they climbed up the hill the two men walked down to greet them, "Nice to see you again, Amos," Mr. Weasley commented, as the others came into view, "You weren't waiting too long I hope?"

"No, no. We just got here as well, been up since two, tis' long way to travel by foot." Amos responded shaking Arthur's his hand.

"Everyone this is Amos Diggory, he works at the Ministry," Mr. Weasley explained, "And this is his son Cedric, whom I sure you know."

Harry felt as though he got punched in the gut when he saw him. Although Cedric seemed decent enough, as most Hufflepuffs are, yet he still couldn't get over the fact that the other seeker had been the reason Hufflepuff defeated Gryffindor last year. Glancing over at the other male Gryffindors he could tell he wasn't alone in his resentment. Being his first time of properly seeing Cedric Diggory up close, he begrudgingly deduced that the prat wasn't called 'Pretty Boy Diggory' for nothing.

"Hi" Cedric said politely with a small smile. Not wanting to be rude, Harry and the Weasley boys all greeted Cedric and Amos as genuinely as they could muster, whilst a blushing Ginny and Hermione shyly returned his greeting. Harry made eye contact with the boy, quickly breaking it, looking down at his feet. After their introductions, the pack of them jaunted up the hill towards the portkey, Amos and Mr. Weasley chatting, the rest of the pack walked in silence.

"These all yours?" asked Amos peering warmly at the three Weasley boys, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny.

Mr. Weasley laughed, "Oh no, only the red heads," correcting the confusion, "That's Hermione, a friend of Ron's—And Harry, another friend-"

"-Merlin's beard!" said Amos with a look of surprise on his face, "Potter? Harry Potter?"

"Err, yes" said Harry unsurprised by the very same reaction he had gotten a hundred times before. You'd think he would start to feel jaded towards his so called 'fame', but he was pretty positive he'd never get used to it.

"Ced' has talked about you Harry, of course, haven't you, son? About the time you played Quidditch" said Amos proudly, "I said-I said, won't that be something to one day tell your grandchildren. That you beat Harry Potter!" Cedric flushed with embarrassment and looked down, rightfully uncomfortable with the situation, his father staring ahead with a smile.

"Dad..." he said with a low voice, hoping to stop his father before anymore embarrassment could be bestowed upon him.

"What, Ced? That's nothing to be embarrassed about. It's all in good fun, Harry understands." said Amos oblivious to how Harry truly felt.

"Harry fell off his broom, Dad," he muttered, "I told you ... It was an accident..."

"Yes, but you didn't fall off yours, did you?" Amos retorted with delight. Cedric flushed an even brighter red, looking at Harry and his friends apologetically.

The Weasley boys all wore scowls on their faces, Harry trying his best to withhold his own, unsure if he succeeded in his attempt. He had resentment towards Cedric, but he also felt kind of bad for the guy... He was obviously embarrassed by his dad's actions. Mr. Weasley cleared his throat once they made it to the top of the hill, and pointed at an old boot placed on the grass. "Would that be the portkey? I'm fairly certain we have to leave soon" said Mr. Weasley aware of the tension Amos' comments had caused.

"Oh yes, right, right," Agreed Amos, "We should get going, more time for talk of Quidditch when we get there."

Harry could see the pride Amos had for his son, and his bitter feelings started to lose their intensity, After all, he was just being a loving father. Though he was going overboard with the role; loving nonetheless.

Mr. Weasley instructed them briefly on how to use a portkey and counted down, "3, 2, 1, now!" Everyone placed a few fingers on the boot. Harry felt a fierce tug as though a rope attached to his navel, jerking him forward, the sensation as though he was falling through nothingness. He could feel the others crashing into him, this was just as unpleasant as any other forms of magical travel. The ground appeared out of nowhere, suddenly crashing into them, thankfully they landing on grass and not on anything more solid.

Harry couldn't have been more thankful to be back on ground, he preferred flying over using portkeys. he looked over at everyone else, and saw Ron sprawled out embracing the ground. Harry shared the same sentiment as his best friend, just not quite as strongly. Everyone who had experienced a less than graceful landing stood up and wiped off their clothes, the teens eager to go look around. The Weasleys and Diggorys were each given their designated camping spots by a man, a muggle, who was standing near where they appeared. Harry chuckled to himself when he noticed Hermione was talking to Ron about the portkey experience and how fascinating she thought it was. He became even more amused when Hermione started berating him when he called her bonkers for thinking it was 'anything but bloody horrible'.

"Um, Harry," said a voice behind him. Jumping from the unexpected noise, Harry turned around and saw Cedric standing a few feet behind him. "I just wanted to apologize about my Dad. He-He means well, just can get a little carried away sometimes." he said sheepishly.

"Oh. Yeah. Don't worry about it," Harry said rather abruptly, feeling every bit as uncomfortable as Cedric was. "Uh, thanks Cedric. It's nice of you to, uh, apologize. "Cedric nodded and quickly walked back to his father, the pair departing to their campsite. Mr. Weasley yelled goodbye and beckoned the group of kids to follow him. Ron, finished arguing with Hermione, joined Harry walking beside him, Fred and George doing the same.

"What gits," said Ron glaring at the direction the Diggorys went, "I'd like to see pretty boy Diggory try and fight off a group of Dementors while trying to play quidditch." The twins also voiced their agreement with Ron adding a choice few words of their own.

"Well..." said Harry, "Cedric came up and apologized to me, so he can't be that much of a git. "

"That makes him more of a git, pretending to be modest when he _clearly_ isn't. What a git." Ron stated wearing a repulsed look on his face.

"Enough about the Diggorys", Harry said with a ingenuine laugh, feeling awkward talking badly about Cedric, when he had just been so... nice. "Look at this!" Harry exclaimed referring to their surroundings. They had just arrived to the campground, and it was beyond what he had imagined. Tents propped up everywhere, all adorned in flags with red white and green stripes, if they were supporting Bulgaria, or all Green if supporting Ireland. All sorts of different witches and wizards were setting up their tents, most of them from out of the country.

"Whoa, this is bloody brilliant, isn't it?" said Ron.

"George, I wonder if there are any cute girls here, ya think?" said Fred wiggling his eyebrows.

"I don't know Fred, but if there are, we'll find em'" cackled George pinching Ron on the cheek, "Someday you'll understand all of this stuff little Ronnikins." Ron blushed, and tried to shove his brother, George managing to jump out of the way.

"You too little Harrietta" said Fred ruffling up Harry's hair. Harry laughed and smiled at Ron, twins running off to go wreak more havoc on unsuspecting victims. Looking around and really taking in their surroundings, the reality of where they were hit him. Harry was filled to the brim with joy, making him forget all about that awkward encounter with the Diggorys.


	2. Accidents Happen

Accidents Happen

It took a couple of hours for them to set up, and Harry was flabbergasted when he entered the tiny tent. How something so small on the outside could be so spacious inside was something he found incredible, proving that the possibilities of magic would never cease to amaze him. Afterwards, they settled in and unpacked some of their things. During this process Harry and the others met the likes of the retired professional quidditch player Ludo Bagman, ministry worker Barty Crouch, and various other witches and wizards who had heard of his presence in the area. After gathering some firewood and completing other menial tasks, everyone finally sat down for lunch, using this time to relax.

Finishing their meals, Harry, Ron, and, Hermione decided to walk around the campsite. They ran into a few of their classmates while looking around and stumbled upon a vendor, the trio excitedly inspecting the different trinkets and enchanted gadgets that were for sale. Harry purchased a few things, and coerced Ron into letting him buy him some omninoculars. With his purchased items in his hands, Harry turned to walk back to their tent, instead running into someone who had not been paying attention, resulting in him being knocked off of his feet. He heard a crunch as he landed on something and was disappointed to see that his omninoculars had been the source of the noise.

"Oh gods, I'm sorry." said the culprit who had knocked him down. The man held out his hand and Harry instinctively grabbed it, pulling himself up. He then realized who he had just run into was no other than Cedric Diggory. Harry rolled his eyes, and picked up his destroyed omninoculars sighing with frustration. "Oh, um, I'm sorry. I'm such an idiot let me buy you a new pair." He said speedily a look of embarrassment adorned on his face, passing Harry up to the vendor to replace the broken pair.

"No, it's alright... Don't worry about it. Ron has a pair, we can just share them" he said clearly irritated while he purposefully avoided eye contact. Harry felt as though Cedric was going to insist, so he turned, and started walking to the direction of their tent his two friends following closely behind. The time they spent walking back consisted of Harry seething in silence, Ron insulting the Hufflepuff, and Hermione being the voice of reason explaining that 'Cedric hadn't anything intentionally wrong' and that 'both boys were overreacting'. Unfortunately Harry had to admit it: Hermione was right, but that bloke for one reason or another just irritated Harry.

They got back to the tent and greeted the others, showing them all what they had purchased. The day started to reach its end and everyone continued to socialize and play games, Ron beating Harry three times at Wizard's Chess before the golden boy gave up in defeat."Someday I'll kick your arse you know" he teased.

"In your dreams, Harry, in your dreams", Ron laughed, pleased about his continued winning streak against his friend.

Hermione interrupted analyzing one of Ron's posters he purchased from the vendor,

"Ron, I don't understand why you idolize this Viktor Krum man so much, in all of his photos he looks like a very angry person."

"Who cares if the bloke is angry or not, He's only the greatest seeker ever!" explained Ron, "You're such a girl."

"I am not! Who is the one who turns into a blubbering girl when-" Hermione stopped in mid sentence a look of horror replacing her previous look of annoyance, "Oh Merlin, Ron, a spider!" In response, Ron yelped leaping up from his spot, and bolted across the tent, knocking the chess board ovr, the pieces scattering all over, the usual color of Ron's face completely absent from his current complexion. Everyone laughed much to Ron's dismay, causing him to glare at Hermione. "Point proven" she said sticking her tongue out teasingly. She then picked up _The Tempest, _a popular muggle play, resuming her reading failing to hold back her obvious amusement. The situation was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat, causing everyone look over at source of the noise. A nervous Cedric Diggory was standing at the entrance of the tent.

"My had father told me your campsite was around here, so I thought I'd bring these," he explained, his grey eyes falling upon Harry, holding some brand new omninoculars, " You know, for breaking your pair." Harry sat there, and just stared at the boy. Hermione leaned forward and shoved Harry with her foot, giving him a look of disapproval. He sighed reluctantly, aware that Hermione was again correct.

He stood up and walked over to Cedric, "I told you it was alright... but thanks." he said, unsure of what else to say.

"No problem, I was the one who wasn't paying attention," he admitted with an earnest look on his face, "I feel better replacing them, so thank_ you _for allowing me to do so_." _And with that, Cedric turned on his heel, and slipped back into the dark campground. Harry turned around and looked at everyone, their expressions ranging from confusion to contempt.

"Well that wasn't awkward or anything," Said Ron while he cleaned up the chess pieces, "Was a nice thing to do, but he's still a git."

"Ron, it was an accident! You only dislike him because he was the reason Gryffindor lost that game last year. It's ridiculous," Hermione said lecturing him, "You too!" She added, glaring over at Harry and the twins, the three boys recoiling in response to her irritation. The four older Weasley men all looked at each other in confusion, ignorant to what had happened earlier. They shrugged it off and continued their previous activities. Not long after Cedric's visit, everyone decided to get some sleep, exhausted by their long day and eager for tomorrow to come.

Harry stepped onto the grass exiting from the arena, adrenaline from the game pulsing through his veins. His senses heightened, he could feel the slightest breeze hitting his face, smell the soft scent of earth being carried from the surrounding forest, and the sun bathing his flesh in warm rays of light. He had to admit that the World Cup, even though they had run into the Malfoys, was one of the best of his life. He was snapped out of his euphoric trance when he heard Ron, Fred, and George cheer to his right. Harry grinned at his friends with an impossibly happy smile.

"That was the most brilliant thing I've ever seen." Ron roared. He threw his right fist and left leg up into the air, stumbling and nearly falling down from the impulsive action. "Viktor Krum is the god of Quidditch, best seeker that has ever been."

"Catching the snitch even though he had been struck by a bludger? It was _bloody_ brilliant you mean," Added Ginny. Vehemently, everyone agreed with youngest Weasley. Though Hermione stayed silent, even she had to admit she was impressed however she'd _never_ admit it to Ron. She had never been wrong when it came to her red headed friend, and she wasn't about to comment on this atrocity.

They reached the campsite, their excitement sustaining their elevated energy. Ron imitated Krum's signature move, The Wronskei Feint, accidentally tackling an unsuspecting witch who had been walking by their tent. Ron apologized and flushed with humiliation, darting inside their tent to hide. After the unpleased Witch had left, the group dropped to the ground, all clutching their sides with laughter, the twins crying with the hilarity of what they had just witnessed. Bill and Charlie were debating about the game, the two supporting the different teams.

Time passed on, the talk of the game saturating their conversations- Thankfully this helped distract Harry's mind from the strange dreams he had been having, a nice break from the worry they had caused him. Finally, all had became too tired, eventually opting for sleep. Harry lay in bed, curious about the comment Mr. Weasley had made earlier that the excitement of this year was just beginning. He closed his eyes, shrugging off the thought, sleep swiftly overtaking him.


	3. The Dark Mark Encounters

The Dark Mark Encounters

Harry was awoken by what sounded like different people shouting, but instead of the happy cheering before, they sounded terrified. Quickly he sat up and looked around, observing a panic stricken Mr. Weasley, "Boys, I said get up now!"

"Wha-What is it?" a concerned Ron asked slipping out of bed.

"No time to explain. Just put your jackets on, and move!" Mr. Weasley stuck his head outside of the tent for a moment, quickly whipping back around, "Hurry, Hurry now!" he commanded to everyone still in bed. It was strange for Harry to see Mr. Weasley so upset, something was clearly wrong... Ron and Harry quickly put on their coats and rushed outside. The group of teenagers walked into the night, trying to dodge the panicked witches and wizards running about. The screaming was deafening, and flashes of light were erupting from different locations around the camp, loud blasts following shortly after. Harry could see a group dressed in black, a couple hundred feet from them, cackling and jeering walking in their direction. Floating above them were humanoid figures, the darkness obscuring their identities. One of the hooded wizards shot a spell at a tent igniting it in flames, the orange light illuminating the figures up above. Harry simultaneously had the impulse to gag and shout- a response to the knowledge the people in the air were the camp director and his family. This was bad.

"Bill, Percy, Charlie and I are going to go help the rest of the ministry. You lot make your way to the forest, and stick together," Mr. Weasley warned, looking nervously at his young children, "Be careful." The four Weasleys turned and ran towards the commotion, wands ready to duel. The twins rushed ahead, both with their arms protectively around their younger sister. Fred, George, Ginny, Harry, Ron, and Hermione ran towards the forest.

"What was that? What were they doing to those muggles... and why?" Ron asked, gulping out of fear.

"I've no idea." Harry replied, his eyes falling onto a mother who had just exited her tent, picking up her tiny daughter, she dashed towards the forest with silent tears falling down her cheeks, "This is insane."

"I-I think they were Death Eaters," Hermione whispered, watching the woman as well, wearing a sympathetic look. She broke her gaze and looked at the two boys, seeing their clueless expressions, she added, "Death Eaters are followers of You Know Who." Harry and Ron stared at Hermione with their mouths agape, now understanding the severity of their situation. Hermione shivered, Harry was unsure if it was out of fear or from the cold.

They made it to the forest in good time, thankfully without incident. They passed through the trees, people were scattered around them running for their safety. Letting out a yelp, Ron tripped on a root landing on the cold damp ground.

"Ron, are you okay?" Hermione asked as she and Harry helped him up.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just can't see a damned thing." He responded wiping the dirt off of his pajama bottoms.

"Are the Weasleys _so_ poor that they can't even afford to walk properly?" Draco Mafloy stepped out from some thicket, his platinum hair luminescent from the light of fire in the campground, "Sad really. Too bad I don't believe in charity, Huh? I'm a sure a days' worth of my spending could buy your family a new dump to live in."

"Bugger off, Malfoy" Ron snapped, his face turning red. Harry placed a hand on his friend's shoulder in an attempt to calm him.

"I'm really enjoying it where I am, quite the view if I don't say so myself," his gazed shifted over towards the chaos. He was clearly enjoying the terror everyone was feeling, "Granger you better lay low, I hear they're not a fan of mudbloods," he warned, his eyes moving back over to the trio, falling upon the female Gryffindor

Ron growled and moved forward, causing Harry to quickly place his other hand around the red head, pulling him back before he could pounce on the Slytherin,

"Malfoy why don't you stop bothering us, go and join your parents perhaps? Or did they not have enough masks for all three of you?" Harry retorted.

Before Draco could respond Hermione pleaded, "Can we just go? I think we've lost the others," she looked over her shoulder, then at Harry and Ron. Harry noticed she seemed more scared than she was before. Maybe Mafloy was right, _was_ Hermione in more danger?

"Yes I think that'd be a good idea." Cedric Diggory said making his way into the forest, eyeing the Slytherin with a serious look. Malfoy looked over at the Hufflepuff, his expression changing from amusement to contemplation.

"Watch your back, Granger" he snapped. Draco, deciding it wasn't the best idea to antagonize an older student, turned around and strutted off into the thicket. Harry watched the blonde disappear into the dark forest, then looked over at the Hufflepuff with raised eyebrows- First Malfoy, now Diggory, who next, Voldemort?

"Thank you" said a blushing Hermione, relief washing over her. Apparently, no matter the situation, good looks were still important. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry about it, you should get going though- Uh, do you mind if I tag along? Father is helping the ministry and I'd rather not be walking about alone."

Ron and Harry stood there in silence, Hermione smiled, "Of course you can, we can't leave you out here alone."

Cedric returned a smile, "Thank you. You two don't mind do you?" his eyes flashed uncertainly to Ron and Harry.

The two boys paused for a moment, Harry finally responded, "No, no not at all. Let's just get going shall we?" he said, his face adorned with a forced smile.

Cedric clasped his awkwardly, and gave a weak smile to the Gryffindors. The Hufflepuff was scared. Feeling reluctant, yet obligated after seeing his demeanor, Ron nodded and made a weird grunting noise. The Weasley was still perturbed with how Hermione reacted to the young man, no matter _how_ scared the git may be.

The four turned and walked through the forest, groups of terrified witches and wizards spread out everywhere. Harry went to go feel for his wand, and realized it wasn't in his jacket, "Bollocks, I dropped my wand." He felt sick.

"You lost what?" Hermione asked with an incredulous tone.

"Not a good time to lose your wand, mate." Ron commented, as he stepped over a large branch.

"No kidding, I guess my good luck has at last run out," Harry joked half heartedly, "Hopefully it's back at the tent."

"Hopefully." agreed Cedric, now checking his pocket; he sighed with relief and pulled out his wand.

Not long after the addition of the Diggory, they encountered two Veela surrounded by a large group of men, the Veela's flawless skin emitted a silver glow all around the area. Harry chuckled to himself as the men all boasted about their supposed accomplishments, riches, and whatever else; attempting to impress the gorgeous creatures. Ron impulsively stepped forward looking like he was in a trance, "I play professional Quidditch, but instead of flying a broom, I ride a dragon!" he had glossy eyes, a ridiculous expression forming on his face. Hermione fiercely grabbed Ron's arm pulling him from the scene, Cedric and Harry chuckled quietly.

"You _seriously_ couldn't think of a better lie?" Hermione berated.

They continued on through the dense forest, hoping to find Ginny and the twins. The situation with the Veela left Harry with an interesting thought: Why didn't he react to Veela the same way as Ron did? He couldn't think of an answer to this conundrum himself, and decided to ask Hermione after this ordeal was over.

All of a sudden, Harry's thoughts were interrupted, feeling the presence of someone in front of him. Harry stopped walking, the other three following suit, "Hello? Who is there?" Harry asked. Cedric took another step forward looking towards the area, the thicket was much more cluttered ahead, but he attempted to get a better look. Without warning, a voice shouted 'MORSMORDRE' a plume of green smoke shooting up from the bushes. The gaseous substance rose into the sky above them, Cedric jumped back, losing his balance, and watched the spell with a look of pure horror on his face. It formed into the shape of a skull, not soon after, a snake appearing from the phantom mouth. People in the area screamed, absolutely overwhelmed with fright. The shouting Harry had heard earlier now paled in comparison to the primal fear the people around him currently exuded.

"Bloody hell, let's get going shall we?" Ron suggested. The four teenagers all exchanged equally worried looks. Cedric, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all rushed to get out of the area as quick as possible. Out of nowhere, loud cracking sounds came from every direction, witches and wizards apparrating all around them. The students froze for a moment, taking in what was happening. Harry noticing the people surrounding them all had their wands pointed towards their direction yelled, "Duck!"

"Stupefy!" dozens of voices shouted, Harry felt a spell fly by hi head nearly hitting him.

A look of realization dawned on Arthur Weasleys' face, "Stop, stop! That's my son-"

"And mine!" shouted an enraged Amos Diggory, "Cedric, what in Merlin's beard are you doing here?" Amos demanded walking forward through the brush.

"Father, I, uh, them-with them, the dark mark, someone, someone conjured it over there" Cedric pointed in the direction of where the spell was cast, completely overwhelmed by their situation. Amos and the other ministry workers turned towards where the boy had gestured with their wands raised.

"How convenient boy, someone just happened to be over there?" accused Barty Crouch, walking up and eyeing the four children. Amos Diggory quickly turned around with a murderous expression.

"Are _you _accusing _my _boy _and Arthur's_ son, Barty?"

"Now, now, it's alright, Amos. Barty, are you accusing Harry Potter, Hermione: a muggle born, Amos' son: Cedric, and my son: Ron, of being responsible for the dark mark?" asked an anxious Mr. Weasley, attempting for Crouch to see reason, and trying to calm down the elder Diggory.

"Hm, I guess you're right. Well, where is he then? Where is the culprit?" spat Mr. Crouch his bulbous eyes scanning the darkness.

"Well our spells shot passed them, may have hit the person responsible." Amos said walking forward, along with another wizard. They pushed some of the bushes aside, looking around for a few moments. "Found someone!"

"Wh-Who?" demanded Crouch with an insane look. There was a moment of silence, everyone nervously awaited the identity of the accused.

Amos and another wizard walked out of the brush carrying a tiny form. Hermione gasped, causing Harry to take a closer look. To his utter surprise he discerned that the form they were carrying was Winky, Barty Crouch's house elf. "I believe she works for you, Barty," Amos passively informed the severe looking man, "She had a wand." A few witches and wizards made noises of shock, Cedric wore a look of disbelief upon his face.

Barty Crouch stepped forward, his lips pursed, every line in his face much harsher than before. Harry looked at the house elf sympathetically, doubting that she had cast the spell. Regardless, he had the feeling that this wouldn't end well for the poor elf.


End file.
